Blizzard
by XBe-the-changeX
Summary: A Tragic tale of a country boy who finds love, only to loose it.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

I looked over at my sweetheart, Melody. How could I be so lucky? Her golden locks peaked out from behind her snow goggles, her nose pink from the sting of the ice cold air. A smile danced upon her lips in the delight of being so many feet above the ground. This was one of the last happy memories of my beloved.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My life was normal. I grew up in the flat country plains of Texas with loving parents and an annoying little sister, Adeline. We were a respectable family. We went to church every Sunday, and we threw the best Barbeque parties. I was surrounded by love, in a bubble that protected me from the harsh realities of the world around me, which would only too soon be popped.

One year, when I was about thirteen and Adeline was about ten, Ma and Pa drove us up to the Appalachian Trail, a famous hike that stretched across 2,181 miles of eastern America. We entered the trail in Georgia at the trailhead and were greeted by a dense forest, the likes of which I had only imagined. The stark difference between this jungle and the rolling plains that I was accustomed to was stunning. Hours of arduous climbing lay ahead, and I complained the whole way up despite the well-kept trail. As we neared the top a fog settled over us, so dense that you could barely see your hand in front of your face. The unknown frightened me. As we reached the summit of Blood Mountain, the mist seemed to clear, but in reality we were just above it. I looked out over the landscape below the peak, taking it all in: the peace that you can find in silence and the beauty of simplicity. I had found my first love, nature.

Since that day I have done everything in my power to be in nature, and to find that high. I have to admit, I have become something of an adrenaline junkie. I would spend hours at the grocery store, labeling cans, sorting produce, and greeting customers just to earn up enough money for my trips.

My activities always change with the seasons. During the Spring I would hike to the highest peaks that I could find. I would climb up the stony cliffs, and I even scaled the cliffs of the Verdon Gorge of France with the menacing rapids of the Verdon River right below. In the Summer I spent my time exploring the many bike trails that the mountains had to offer. I found myself speeding down mountains, my hair flying back in the wind. In the fall, I went on beautiful hikes, appreciating the rich color of the dying trees all around me. And in the winter, I would snowboard down the very slopes that I had hiked just months before. Gliding down the mountain of a single slab of fiberglass had to be my favorite thing to do in the mountains, and as I became more and more advanced I began to shred across the intimidating moguls, diamond shaped bumps that are formed by the tedious work of groomers and reinforced by the constant flow of skiers. Once I had mastered the groomed slopes, I dared to venture beyond the trodden path. I hiked my board up to the top of the ski mountain and went off roading. I jumped over rocks and patches of rubble, dodged and dived around trees as they flew past, and sliced through the untouched powder, knowing that I was one with nature.

My high school years went by too fast. I had few friends and little time for my schoolwork. I had one focus, the mountains. Out of the 300 kids enrolled at Mckinley High, I had one true friend, Vinny. Vinny wrestled for JV. I met him in the locker room that our tiny school required us to share. I was on the cross-country team to keep up my endurance and strength for the next climb, despite the low altitude of my birthplace I did have to keep in shape. My locker just so happened to be to the left of his, and we hit it off immediately. "What's your name?" I can remember asking, in my shy country drawl.

"Vinny's the name, I just moved here from Jersey. My mom got us a place here. I didn't want to move…" he trailed off and then snapped back. "Well, what's your name, partner?" he winked, mocking my country twang. He seemed so fixated on the simple life that we lead. The fact that we move so much more slowly than the city was unfathomable for this city boy. He asked all the standard questions like "Well, where's your horse? Don't you ride it to school?" and "Why don't you every wear a cowboy hat and spurs on your boots?" Somehow his curiosity and need to expand brought us closer together. We could both see a bigger picture, outside of college. Granted, mine involved the likes of Everest and Kilimanjaro, but we both had ambition and dreams. Its too bad dreams don't get you too far in a world like this. Because I was always so focused on my next big climb, I had never worried about my academics. I scraped by, barely passing the TAX and doing the bare minimum. By Senior Year Vinny was on his way to becoming a successful lawyer. He was moving to The Big Apple, New York City, and I was just being left in the dust, here to stay in Brownsboro, Texas. I had no prospects, no money, and too much pride to ask Ma and Pa for help, and that's when I saw it.

At graduation a recruitment tent was set up for the United States Army. A long line snaked out behind it, most of the kids wanting the free merchandise that the tent promised, but I had other ideas in mind. I pulled Vinny aside and asked, "Do you recken' I should enlist?"

"No! Jared, man, you have so much more you could do! Its so dangerous."

"But what else am I gonna do? I gotta make somethin' of myself."

"Yeah, I guess you do. Well, if you think its right, then go for it man."

I strode over to the tent and began writing my curvy signature on the long list of recruits.

"Young man, do you know the commitment that you are making?" a deep voice growled over the desk.

I looked up to find a fully decorated soldier staring down at me. I nodded timidly and said, "Yes, Sir. I know."

"Do you have any special skills, soldier?" he demanded.

"Well I rock climb, Sir, and I know how to get around in rough terrain."

"Excellent," he continued cutting me off. "We'll put you in heavy infantry. You do seem like a fit young lad… Jared," he said finding my signature on the list. "You will be mailed the details of your enlistment, including when and where you will be trained. Best of luck to you lad!" He exclaimed wholeheartedly. He was a true patriot, and I was destined to see so many more just like him.

When my letter came in the mail it informed me that I was to be shipped to a training facility in Arizona, to become accustomed to the arid climate that I would be introduced to. I had told Ma and Pa earlier that day, and Ma still seemed to be in shock that her one and only son was off to war. I knew she would protest, and that my well being is always in her heart, but I had my mind set on making something of myself. Maybe if I were a good enough soldier they would promote me to corporal, or sergeant, or lieutenant, or maybe even captain. One could dream. But as I dreamt I began to worry about the barren landscape of the countries that we warred with, Iraq, Kuwait, and Israel. I thought about the flat landscape and desert hills that awaited me. How would I be able to take being away from my mountains for so long? I decided that I would take one last big trip to Smith Rock State Park in Smith Rock, Oregon. I planned to summit the Monkey Face, a 400-foot dagger of stone that pierces the sky that becomes more and more difficult as you near the peak.

I packed my gear and began the arduous two-day drive that would get me to my destination. As I followed the winding river into the Park, I ogled at the beauty of my parting climb. The Monkey face loomed before me, intimidating, yet daring me to climb.

The next morning I unloaded my gear and made my way to the foot of the mountain. There were few other climbers. The only other I could see were a group of women also preparing for the daring climb.

I began my ascent, and after 150 feet, my arms were trembling. The sweat dripped off my brow, and my body ached to give in. The great Monkey face seemed to be laughing at my struggles, mocking my human weakness. But this was one of the joys of nature. It pushes you to the absolute limit, and when you think that you can't go any further, you do.

The closer I got to the top, the steeper it got, and I began to wander if I would even reach the top, and as I looked across the face for another foothold, I saw her. She was a step ahead of me; her golden locks cascaded down her flexing shoulders. Seeing me staring she smiled and began climbing. She was so agile, it seemed as if she floated up the cliff. I raced to catch up with her, her beauty making me forget my pain. But just as I would reach her, she would quicken her pace, until we were in a sort of race. Both of us were after the peak. When we finally collapsed at the tiny plateau at the top, I glance over at her. "That was some fast climbing," I panted, "do you climb much?"

"Yeah, I have since I was ten. Rock walls were my thing," she laughed. Her laugh was loud and contagious, quite cute by my standards. "My name's Melody by the way, Melody Dubleau. And you are?"

"Jared." And so it began, my second love, the love that opened my eyes to a whole new way of seeing the world.

Melody had grown up in Boston, Massachusetts right in the middle of a bustling city. She hated the city: the city air, the business of the people, and the disregard for the need of others. She couldn't find peace with all that noise around her; she was always trying to find a way to get away from it all, to escape to nature.

We only had three months together before I was to be sent off to war, but they were three wonderful months. I never knew it was possible to fall in love in such a short time, but I did. I fell in love Miss Melody Dubleau.

On the last night that we spent together before I was sent away, we sat under the stars in our favorite spot next to the lake on my family's land. The moonlight reflected on the water of the pond and in her shinning green eyes. I showed her the stars, clearly displayed across the night sky, stars that she could never see in the city. I showed her the Orian's Belt, Virgo, her zodiac sign, and I told her a story that had been told to me since I was a child:

"Darling, let me tell you a story about these stars, about the great Queen Berenice of Egypt. Do you see her constellation up there next to Leo?" I asked patiently. "Well, here it goes. Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away…" I paused as she giggled, "There was a Queen. The Queen loved her King very much, and she would do anything to keep him safe. Now, the King had to go off to war in a land far away. And the Queen was so worried about him that she prayed to the heavens to keep him safe, and give her a sign that he was ok. So the goddesses of the sky took a lock of her hair when she was sleeping and with it they painted that constellation right there, and it is said that every time that she looked up at it, she could see her King. You see Melody. We'll always be under the same sky with the same stars, no matter how far away, and when you look up at the night sky you can see me. Because you, Melody, are the Queen of my heart." And at that moment I pulled out the star pendant necklace that I had bought for her as a parting gift to remember me by.

She lifted her hair, and I place the fragile necklace on her neck. She picked up the pendant and admired it. Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a book. She handed it to me smiling, "Just a little something to make you remember home." I flipped open the first page. It was a scrapbook of all our favorite hikes with pressed flowers and pictures of the mountains that we had sworn we would climb some day. On the last page was a picture of Everest. She had pasted a picture of the two of us hiking up to the top, and had written at the bottom "Someday, soon."


End file.
